Jon Lovett:
If you want to run for president, you have every right, and you have a case to make. But there is only one place to make that case, and it’s in the Democratic primaries. The alternative would destroy your legacy as an accomplished executive, divide the country, tilt the presidential election toward Trump, and turn your name into a permanent joke, or worse.
I just remember people saying “go ahead vote for Jill Stein, Hillary has this in the bag.” Our political system, and the divide in this country, which Howard Schultz speaks of, is exactly the reason he can’t run as an independent.
If this were France, I’d say go for it. But in the US, having a serious, third party or independent candidate has the potential to be a serious threat to whichever party their policies are more aligned with.
In this case, Schultz would take votes away from Warren, or Harris, or whoever else might end up winning the Democratic primary. If that were to happen, we get an extra four years of orange. Nobody wants that.